Customer Reviews

Heaven to Betsy (Betsy-Tacy)

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This is a wonderful series of books, which I prefer to return to than the "Little House" series. I was introduced to these rather late (hey, I wasn't alive in the 50s, okay?) I find them charming and timeless. Even though the skirts are ankle-length, the boys don't swear, and Daddy doesn't get any mouthing off from the kids, the people in it seem modern in their feelings. And it takes a darn talented writer to have various girls patting on beauty products and not make them look vain...

We follow teenage Betsy, along with best friend Tacy, through the tangle of young adult life. Accompanying them are Betsy's sister the budding singer Julia, her warm and kind parents, and a new character: the Ray family cook. Amid the flurry of friendships and incidents therein, Betsy is courted (courted, not dated. It meant walking her to school) by at least two boys -- Joe and Tony; she is also competing against Tony in an essay competition.

Though many of the events in the book are fairly lighthearted, there are also serious topics. Among them is the growing attraction of the Episcopalian church for Julia and Betsy, who are Baptists. The question of how they can tell their father of their wishes was a very mature and intriguing plot device, and I was genuinely relieved at the conclusion of it.

Despite the various "edgy" books put out now, this is a book that is far more appealing -- sweet and bright, but never sugary or sentimental. The writing style is surprisingly modern and descriptive, without overdoing anything. The speech patterns are GREAT.

This book falls into the same category as "Meet Me In St. Louis," a nice world with nice people. Mr. and Mrs. Ray are wise and kindly -- not just to their kids, but all kids. Betsy is a great character, strong and independent and remarkably free in her thinking, considering these events took place near the turn of the century.

Be sure to read this book! (And all of Lovelace's books...)

The Betsy-Tacy book series is fantasic, to say the least. When I was little, my mother read them aloud to my brothers and I. That's not to say they're only for children. Anyone will love these timeless classics. They feature Betsy Warrington Ray, a young aspiring writer, who's character is actually based closely upon author Maud Hart Lovelace's Life. In the first book, 'Betsy-Tacy', Betsy has her 5th birthday party and invites her new neighbor, 5-year-old Tacy Kelly. Soon to make their twosome a threesome, Tib Muller moves to the neighborhood from Milwaukee. They become great friends and the books take the girls through high school and beyond. The books in the Betsy-Tacy series are:

Betsy-Tacy, Betsy, Tacy and Tib, Betsy and Tacy Go Over the Big Hill, Betsy and Tacy Go Downtown, Heaven to Betsy, Betsy in Spite of Herself, Betsy was a Junior, Betsy and Joe, Betsy and the Great World, and Betsy's Wedding.

I recommend these books highly; everybody should read them.

The whole Betsy-Tacy series, especially

the high school and beyond ones, are books I
return to again and again with sentiment.

Though written in 1947 and set in the early
1900's, there is a timelessness to the frank

emotion and lush description of the teenage
adventures of our heroine, Betsy Ray. Betsy

is a good role model for today's young girls,

for though she is understandably interested
in boys and being well liked and known at

school, she is smart and has great ambitions

to be a great writer and a good sister.

Set in fictional Deep Valley, Minnesota but

based somewhat on the author's life and her
journals, the book is written with sweet
sentimentality and vivid memory of the
joys and heartaches of young adult life. It's

amazing how the feelings are very much the

same, though the 1900's were a different time

with different dress and customs. Readers

will love looking at Vera Neville's beautiful

drawings which should have been kept on the

paperback covers, and imagine a time when

lunch was called supper, boys came to "call",

all skirts came down to your ankles, and

friends sang around the piano knew how to waltz.

You will fall in love with the Ray family--

their fun traditions, the benign and joking

father, laughing and beautiful mother, sedate

Margaret the little sister, and of course

Julia, the lovely and soulful singer sister

who is always understanding and warm. Here

are parents still very much in love, sisters

who stopped fighting once they started high

school and actually support each other
.
The Ray family that welcomes visitors any

any time of the day, so their home is always

brimming with fun.

Heaven to Betsy is about Betsy's freshman

year in high school, when she discovers boys

and has her first crush on mysterious and

worldly Tony Markham, becomes active in

school societies in performance and competing

in the Essay Contest. It is a wonderful

portrait of mainstream America in the 1900's

as well as a book young women can relate to

as they struggle with their own pains and

enjoy the thrills of growing up.

When Maud Hart Lovelace first wrote the "Betsy-Tacy" series, did she know how much so many people, from children to adults, would love them? The series has at least one book that anyone of any age can relate to. 10-year-olds will love "Over the big Hill," high-schoolers will love the books about when Betsy was attending Deep Valley High, etc. And it doesn't end there! Even if you're not the age that Betsy was in one of the books, you can still love all of them! Maud has a way of capturing real feelings and experiences--even bad ones--and turning them into works of art. The "Betsy-Tacy" series really is a work of art, even if it was painted with a pen, and not a paintbrush.

Heaven to Betsy is one of the most characteristic of this loved series. If you haven't read any of the others, you'd still enjoy it! Betsy and Tacy enter the wider world of the Deep Valley High School, the "Crowd," sings around Julia's piano, fudge, Heinz's . . . full of gentle humor, vivid characterization, and affection. A delight for girls and grownups.

I've been part of Betsy and Tacy's world since I was about six years old and just discovering Deep Valley. I've read all the books several times since then, and when it comes time to take them back to my tiny local library, I actually feel like I'm losing a friend! Betsy, Tacy, Tib, Carney, Bonnie, Tony, Cab, Winona, and the rest of the Crowd are all part of my life, it seems. . .and don't even start me on Joe!

I've acquired the first four books in the series, and I'm now on a hunt for older versions of the high school books. I simply can't let go of the Deep Valley Crowd!

(Oh, and it may be just me, but was anyone else unbearably sad when the Ray family moved to Minneapolis?)

There's nothing like a Betsy book ... I'm 29 and have read them all at least twenty times since I was young. They just get better with age. If you've never read it, get started ... you'll be all the happier for doing so.

I first read this book in 1956. And I have re-read it many times since. It is the story of a freshman in High School in 1906-1907. Betsy and her friend Tacy find a Crowd and take part in many activities. Betsy has disapointments in love and in her own performance in the High School Essay Contest. She has triumphs also. But most of all, she learns how important her writing is to her. Betsy's family, The Rays, are one of the most wonderful families of fiction. Each member of the family is very real to readers. The hired girl Anna, is part of the Ray families and we love her as well. Mr. and Mrs. Ray are respected for their wisdom in raising their daughters. Betsy's older sister, Julia, is a "siren" but has her sights set firmly on singing grand opera. Little sister Margaret loves animals and delights in her older sisters' activities. Mrs. Ray and the brass bowl is one of my all time favorite chapters. It shows what a sense of humor the family had and how important they all were to each other. The Deep Valley High School seems like my own high school. The situations described are not unlike even schools of the '90's. Maud Hart Lovelace was such a descriptive writer that the books do not really seem "historic" the reader is aware that we are reading about the early part of the 20th Century-- but we also feel like we are there too! I highly recommend this book for families and girls alike. It is a wonderful book. Nora Lee Liederbach

This review could be written for any of the Betsy books, but this one is my fave. Like all of the books in the series this book is about the life of a young girl in Minnesota. Not only is it interesting from a historical perspective--what they wore, what they did--it is also just a great story about a family that never gets sentimental or preachy. The characters are also well developed, including the minor characters that reappear in the series. It is interesting to note that althought these books take place in the early 1900's and were written in the 40's (I think) Betsy and her sister Julia both plan on going to college and having careers. My mother read these books and passed them along to me and even though I am in my 30's I still reread them every few years. I have also introduced them to young readers with great success.

"Heaven To Betsy", is the best book in the Betsy-Tacy series that I've read so far. It makes you wish that you could go to Deep Valley High yourself! I CAN'T WAIT to read the other Betsy-Tacy books as Betsy grows up.